Saturday, 30 May 2009

Tanzanians need the Uhuru Torch to bring hope, love and respect to the country now than ever before, Vice-President, Dr Ali Mohamed Shein, said yesterday.

He observed shortly before lighting the torch at Kirumba stadium in Mwanza City that ongoing political and socio-economic changes in the country called for the torch to symbolically shine on the country.

The freedom and light symbol was first lit on top of Mt Kilimanjaro (5,890m) in 1961 to shine on the country and across its borders. It was to bring hope where there is despair, love where there is enmity and respect where there is hatred.

"We need the torch to remind us on the need to adhere to the tenets of the symbol stipulated in the wise words uttered by the Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, before independence," Dr Shein explained.

An albino girl is taking part in the Miss Vodacom Tanzania for the first time in the history of the beauty pageant in the country.

Twenty-four-year-old Grace Wabanu is amongst the 15 contestants vying for the title in Mwanza.

She has joined other contenders at the Miss Mwanza camp, ready for the competition scheduled for early next month at the Kirumba stadium in Mwanza city.

The sky seems to be the limit now for the Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (Saut) undergraduate student after she emerged the first runner-up in the Miss Sengerema beauty pageant held in the district.

Saturday, 23 May 2009

Panic gripped residents of Busanda constituency yesterday following the deployment of 195 more police personnel in the constituency two days before its by-election.

The law enforcers arrived here at around 2:00p.m. yesterday aboard three buses, apparently to beef up security during the by-election tomorrow.

A number of residents of the constituency interviewed immediately after the arrival of the police personnel expressed fears of the possibility for the law enforcers being used to threaten the electorate to vote for a particular candidate.

The arrival of the police personnel makes 300 the number of law enforcers deployed in the constituency, Mwanza acting regional police commander Elias Kalinga said.

They had been imported by three firms: King Crown Import and Export Limited, Mwanza Iward and Habas Magreth, and Haji Mwajuma Ibrahim.

The destruction was overseen by FCC staff, the police and media personnel.

The FCC Legal Officer, Laiton Mhesa, who supervised the torching of the imports said the three importers were also fined TShs5 million (around $4600) and paid for the cost of destruction in accordance with the Merchant Marks Act of 1963. The importers lost their goods after they had paid import duty as well.

Saturday, 16 May 2009

ON the front pages of some paper yesterday I saw pictures of some young CCM toughs, called commandos, wearing ninja-like balaclavas and nglasses. They were throwing their weight around in the Busanda constituency in Mwanza.

Forced to the ground was a Chadema supporter. Now we know pictures usually don’t lie. There is a nauseating lie about the much-parroted peace and tranquility in our country. Now we know where the stolen billions are channeled into. Some guys are running illegal private armies.

If the CCM shows the way by outright hiring of thugs to force people to love the party, then others will follow suit! Then we will need just a spark to have an explosion.

The transporters said they were surprised to see the Infrastructure Ministry organising a seminar on conservation of the lake and ocean environment for them, when Government owned vessels were largely to blame for polluting the lake.

An expert with the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), Mr Robin Maseke, said vessels belonging to the ministry were not furnished with facilities for storage of human waste, thus pump the waste into the lake.

“The Government should invest money in a modern railway network and buy more ferries for the Dar es Salaam-Mwanza-Portbell route.”

THE Government should restore the diesel subsidy for industrial generators until power supply is sustainable, the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) has said.

In their contribution to the 2009/2010 budget proposals, they said although power supply had improved, there were rampant power fluctuations that had led to loss of goods and property.

“The demand has surpassed supply thus leading to poor quality power supply,” they argued. The producers said pharmaceutical, plastics and textile firms had incurred great losses due to inconsistent power.

Monday, 11 May 2009

High tax rates on aviation fuel makes airlines operating in Tanzania less competitive than their counterparts in other East African Community (EAC) member states. The Precision Air, chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Alfonse Kioko said in Dar es Salaam during the weekends that with high tax rates, aviation fuel prices are 30 per cent more expensive in Tanzania than they are in Kenya and Uganda.

'Due to various charges on fuel, it is more expensive hear by up to 30 per cent compared to Kenya and Uganda but when we ask dealers, they cite taxation as the major obstacle,' he said.

He said however that operators are currently dialoguing with the government to have the taxes reduced to turn Tanzania into a cheaper destination. It is hoped that such a move will also help to attract increased numbers of tourists in the country.

Mr Kioko was speaking to reporters in presence of the airline's other senior officials, shortly before launching the airline's new ATR72-500 aircraft that will be plying between Mwanza and Dar es Salaam. The 70-seater aircraft, named 'Mwanza'is the third in a $129million order deal between an Italian-French aircraft manufacturer known as Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) on one side and Precision Air on the other side.

Those jailed are a young woman, Shija Madata, 18, Job Mlama, 30, and Anicet Edward, 30, who was the dog's caretaker. The trio were jointly found guilty of forcing a 13-year old schoolgirl to engage in an unnatural act with the dog in March last year.

Sunday, 3 May 2009

Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) recently injected 58.3m/- to support the annual inter-regional soccer championship popularly known as Taifa Cup, but that praiseworthy gesture geared at soccer development may be undermined by certain negative technical trends.

While presenting the cheque to Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) Secretary-General Frederick Mwakalebela, Kilimanjaro Brand Manager Oscar Shelukindo said that the company had donated the money earlier, as a catalyst for the tournament to run smoothly and professionally.

The event will kick off simultaneously in six mainland centres - Mbeya, Mwanza, Arusha, Ruvuma, Tanga and Dodoma.

Saturday, 2 May 2009

Register in advance for a complimentary ticket to BDTA Dental Showcase 2009 between now and 30 June 2009 for a chance to win tickets to the Bridge2Aid Charity Ball for you and up to 10 members of your dental practice.

The Bridge2Aid Charity Ball is taking place during the evening of Friday 13 November 2009 at the Hilton Metropole, within the grounds of the NEC, Birmingham.

The event, sponsored by Henry Schein Minerva Dental, FMC, Dentsply and the BDTA is designed to raise money for Bridge2Aid, the charity running Hope Dental Centre, a training and community development programme in Mwanza, Tanzania and is expected to attract hundreds of people from the dental industry.